As Michigan’s coal industry has been decimated in part by
increased federal environmental regulations, some experts are concerned energy
bills will skyrocket.

Consumers Energy announced it was canceling
its plans for a clean coal plant near Bay City. Consumers Energy also
announced it didn’t anticipate operating its seven coal-fired plants past
January 2015.

At the same time it’s shutting down coal plants, Consumers
Energy proposed hiking its electric-rates by $147 million this year. The
Michigan Public Service Commission limited the increase to
$118 million.

Michigan’s coal-burning power plants supplied 60 percent of
the electricity used in the state, according to a Michigan Public Service
Commission, Department of Labor and Economic Growth 2008 study.

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Daniel Simmons, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.
non-profit Institute for Energy Research (IER), said their research has Michigan
losing significant electrical capacity as a result of Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Simmons said if all the plants projected to close in Michigan were operating at full capacity, for one hour they'd produce 1.5 gigawatts of electricity.

“Closing these older coal-fired power plants will further
increase the price of electricity as utilities build new power plants and pass
on the costs to electricity consumers,” Simmons wrote in an e-mail. “This means
higher electricity prices for Michiganders and the higher prices will make it
even more difficult for businesses and manufacturers in Michigan.”

Meanwhile, experts predict large offshore wind turbines
could be built in the Great Lakes as quickly as three
years.

Russ Harding, the environmental analyst for the Mackinac
Center for Public Policy, said experts are concerned natural gas prices will
also increase. Harding said natural gas will be needed to replace the loss of
coal production because wind and solar are not dependable forms of energy.

A Sierra Club official applauded
Consumer Energy’s decision to shut down coal plants in a letter-to-the-editor.

Laurie Tata, a member of the Michigan Sierra Club Political
Committee, wrote that “clean, renewable energy sources are our future.” The Sierra Club files a lawsuit against every coal plant in America seeking a permit.

According to an EPA report,
U.S. air quality has greatly improved by significant measures since
1970. According to the IER, "Since 1990, nationwide air quality has improved
significantly for the
six common air pollutants. These six pollutants are ground-level ozone,
particle pollution (PM2.5 and PM10), lead, nitrogen dioxide (NO2),
carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2)."

As part of our efforts on government transparency, we obtained data on the compensation of most public employees in the state. This information has been used to fact check claims about salaries, verify data from other open records requests, and hold government spending accountable.

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